Related

CALGARY — In this increasingly Canada-centric (produced by and pre-packaged for, to be consumed by ...) holiday hockey festival, despite being consigned to the shamefully all-but-forgotten ‘other’ side of the draw, they’ve gone quietly, wonderfully, about their business.

And funny, they honestly don’t seem to feel in the least slighted if, while all but ignored themselves, every Jaden Schwartz movement, each Brett Connolly syllable, commands more exhaustive analysis, a larger type size, than Katy Perry and Russell Brand’s heart-wrenching Christmastime split.

“That’s OK, if people don’t notice,” confesses Victor Rask, leaning purposefully on his cue, one of only four of the conquering Swedish contingent on the ice early New Year’s Day morn. “We don’t mind.

“We just come and do our best. It doesn’t matter if anybody believes in us.”

Swedes in the weeds.

That compelling 4-3 victory over the defending champion Russians via Joakim Nordstrom’s goal 2:44 into overtime Saturday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome — a welcome, edge-of-seat cuticle-nibbler following a wearying string of perfunctory, grisly mutilations tournament-wide — has awoken a few of the inattentive; earning the Swedes one of the two byes into Tuesday’s semifinals as winners of Group A.

Over the course of their stay here they’ve shown us a kaleidoscope of performance turns: Encouraging (versus Latvia), rampant (versus Slovakia), resilient (versus Russia) and, just to add a nice human touch, fallible (needing a shootout to tiptoe by the Swiss, for heaven sakes).

What has made this such a memorable trip so far for the Tre Kroner? Well, for starters, there’s the youthful exuberance of mini-Max, Friberg, the joyriding 19-year-old from Skovde who’s already scored seven goals to tie for the tournament lead.

“He’s unbelievable, one of those character players,” lauded coach Roger Ronnberg following the OT slaying of the Russians. “If you worked with him, you would understand how much of a winner he is. Right now, he`s blaming himself for missing some scoring chances; he`s p—ed. That’s him.”

There’s the steadiness of Minnesota Wild pick Jonas Brodin on the blue line and the dynamism of Ottawa Senators prospect Mika Zibanejad up front. The precociousness of draft eligible Filip Forsberg and the balance that Sebastian Collberg, Erik Thorell, Rickard Rackell and Nordstrom bring. The shrewd, unifying blend of work and play Ronnberg has instilled within his group.

And, at the nerve-centre, the defiance, the willpower, the very Canadian-ness, if you will, of captain Johan Larsson.

Larsson just happens to be one of only two prominent hockey players to hail from Gotland, Sweden’s largest island (pop. 57,000), 3,140-square kilometres in area. The other? None other than former Calgary Flames star Hakan Loob, the first — and still the only — Swede to score 50 goals in an NHL season, Stanley Cup winner in ’89, world championship and Olympic gold medallist and one of the flat-out finest people to ever don the colours.

“Honestly, I don’t know much about him, as a person,” confessed Larsson. “I know he was a good player, won gold medals. But not so much highlights. He’s from the same island, where there is not so much hockey. We have three rinks now. It’s big just to go to the mainland to play.

“So I’ve heard about him, of course.”

“Yeah, it is kind of cool,” agreed Ronnberg. “They don’t have a really solid hockey culture there, so it’s even more interesting that Hakan Loob and Johan are from the same spot.

“I put the ‘C’ on (Larsson) because he is the captain. He is the true leader of the team. He’s the kind of captain that shows by example, by the hard work and by everything he is willing to put into it to win a hockey game on the ice. That’s what he means to this team.”

Loob scored oh-so-many big goals during his stay at the Saddledome. His Gotland island compatriot hasn’t counted one yet among Sweden’s 25 at this tournament.

But there’s still, hopefully, two chances left to make that right.

“Last year,” reminded Ronnberg, “we played the first four games really good, won the group, but we got beat in the playoffs right away.

“It reminds all the guys that we haven’t won anything. Stay on the ground, keep working. Don’t look too far ahead, don’t look back. They’re a good bunch of kids.”

So good that people are finally starting to stand up and take notice. In spite of themselves.

Swedes formerly in the weeds.

“Maybe it would’ve been hard to play against Canada in a semifinal because they’d have 20,000 in the stands cheering for them,” conceded Rask. A small shrug.

“We know no game is easy. But if we play the way we can, we can beat any team here.

“We’re happy. We’re not satisfied.

“We want to save the best for last.”

Calgary Herald

gjohnson@calgaryherald.com

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.